What Comes After Streaming?

[ER]

When I was a kid we had VCRs, and we thought life was great! We'd go to video stores and it was just amazing!

Then when I was a teenager we got DVDs, and we were amazed. Later we could even get them in the mail!!!! Then came blu-ray, and etc.etc. and eventually we got streaming, and what on God's blue Earth could ever be better?

Except it's likely something eventually will. But what will it be? What comes after streaming?

[Alex]

Direct streaming into your brain?

[Trevor]

Direct streaming into your brain?

I have that already: me undies act as a conduit 

[LilCerberus]

Not sure why, but I set up a google alert for Video Recording Contact Lens.....

Maybe players you insert & remove from your eyes is the next big thing.....

[Paquita]

I'm going to risk making a fool of myself with a prediction, but I keep thinking technology is kind of getting overzealous with "less is more" and eventually the newest thing is going to take some steps backwards - for movies, back to physical media of some sort. 

Maybe this is a sign of me getting old and every old person starts thinking like this sometime.  For example, if you and your spouse spend hundreds purchasing a bunch of digital movies on Amazon, how do you split that if you get a divorce?  What happens to those movies if Amazon goes out of business?  What if TVs change format (again) and all the movies you purchased digitally need to be re-purchased to be playable on new TVs?   What's stopping a company from editing a movie you own online?  I think they do that with books and games already.  It's a little annoying that I need to spend $7.99 to buy a streaming movie I previously would have got in a bargain bin or a 100 movie set on DVD. I've also heard some complaints specifically about streaming/digital gaming that seem to be problematic even with the younger crowd and they are preferring physical copies whenever possible, but I don't know enough about that to get into it.

Not to mention, those streaming movies don't help very much when you're taking a super long road trip and the kids want to watch something.   We still have a portable DVD player for road trips.  I know that's not something we all had back in the day – my mom used to tell me to look out the window, it's like TV in real life!  Looking out the window kind of sucks these days though.  There's not as many cows and horses close to the road and I swear there was a lot more wooded areas to drive through when I was a kid to try to spot deer or bigfoot. 

My uncle, forever ahead of his time, has been copying all of his DVDs onto a hard drive for years, it might be multiple hard drives at this point. When we're in his house, we can access the movies on his network, I think he can even hardwire to his TV so you don't need the internet connection to watch them.  He was also able to access remotely too when we went on vacation, but I don't know how he did that.  It's pretty cool.  It's kind of a lot of work the way he does it, but I think that might be something like what would be "next".  Some streamlined device, specific for loading movies into and as long as you have access to the thing, you can connect to it and watch movies on whatever screen you happen to be using even when there's no internet.  Granted, I guess you'd be screwed if you lose or break the device.

 

[indianasmith]

I'm ready for the Holodeck!!!

[RCMerchant]

Reading the paperback novelization! 

[pacman000]

Really, the history is more like this:

Motion picture film is standardized at 35mm.

35mm is too expensive for most people, so Pathe introduces 9.5mm for amateur use. Film companies start offering films in 9.5mm for home use.

28mm film is also introduced for amateur use. 28mm film always uses acetate-based filmstock, for safety. It catches on as a format for portable projectors. Film companies start offering versions of films in the format.

Kodak introduces 16mm film for amateurs, which kinda cuts Pathe out of the market. 28mm is discontinued. Film companies offer prints of films in 16mm. The format is popular for industrial use, but is too expensive for amateurs.

Kodak introduces 8mm film, which catches with amateurs. Film companies offer prints of films in 8mm for home use. This takes us up to the 40's or 50's.

In the 60's Kodak & Fugifilm introduce competing 8mm formats in cartridges. Kodak's format, Super 8, offers higher resolution images, but is incompatible with older projectors.  Again, film companies offer prints of movies in Super 8.

While home movies are popular, it's a speciality market, too small to interest any major studio. They license their films to smaller companies, who repackage them for home use.

Companies start offering films in cartridges, both as toys & as portable units for salesmen, etc. The toys can hold ~5 minutes of footage; professional models can hold ~20 minutes.

In the late 70's, after years of failed starts, several home video formats are released at the same time. V-Cord, Betamax, VHS, Laserdisc, CED, & others. VHS quickly gains more users than the other formats. As prices decrease, home video replaces home movies.

Companies begin licensing movies, & releasing them on home video. 8mm film prints are discontinued. While there was always a market for prerecorded media, the market explodes after the introduction of home video. No longer are consumers regulated to a few film clips in a bin in the back of the camera store; entire stores build up to serve the demand. The largest is Blockbuster. As the market grows, studios stop licensing films to tape manufactures. The major studios start their own home video labels.

In the late 90's, the internet becomes popular, & several companies experiment with streaming media. Among these are TimeWarner/AOL, Enron, & Blockbuster. The infrastructure isn't ready yet, so no services catch on. DVDs come out, & a new company, Netflix, begins renting them by mail. Video stores also pick up DVDs, & the new format eventually replaces VHS.

Companies continue to experiment with streaming video. They know it will be a major part of the market, as soon as the infrastructure catches up. Among these companies are Blockbuster & Netflix, which stand to loose a lot of someone else gets there first.

Blockbuster, & other video stores, loose ground to Netflix, which has a larger selection & better terms. Video stores also loose ground to RedBox, a video rental kiosk which is cheaper to run & more convenient to consumers.

Both Netflix & Blockbuster come out with streaming services, but Blockbuster has been loosing money for too long. They go bankrupt; Dish Network buys them for their streaming service. They close down Blockbuster's corporate-owned stores, but leave open their franchises. There were about 50 at the time; today there is only one.

Movie studios see Netflix's profits, & start their own streaming services, taking their productions back as their contracts with Netflix expire.

[RCMerchant]

Nickelodeons?
Lets go retro!

[Allhallowsday]

Really, the history is more like this:
Motion picture film is standardized at 35mm.
35mm is too expensive for most people, so Pathe introduces 9.5mm for amateur use. Film companies start offering films in 9.5mm for home use.
28mm film is also introduced for amateur use. 28mm film always uses acetate-based filmstock, for safety. It catches on as a format for portable projectors. Film companies start offering versions of films in the format.
Kodak introduces 16mm film for amateurs, which kinda cuts Pathe out of the market. 28mm is discontinued. Film companies offer prints of films in 16mm. The format is popular for industrial use, but is too expensive for amateurs.

Kodak introduces 8mm film, which catches with amateurs. Film companies offer prints of films in 8mm for home use. This takes us up to the 40's or 50's...

8mm 8mm 8mm 

[RCMerchant]

^
Circa 1972.

[kornula]

Vinyl is making a comeback.. in a big way. The clearest sign its profitable is that WalMart has dedicated shelves to it.

We will see a return to physical media as there will be a major ...distraction soon that will give the public that option.

that's just a guess

[RCMerchant]

^ Thanks for that inside info, Dr. Evil!

[sprite75]

[RCMerchant]

Reading tales by stringed beads.